Hoffman Kiln Langcliffe

The Hoffmann kiln was built at Langcliffe, near Settle, in 1873. It is an industrial scale lime kiln which was constructed for the Craven Lime Company. The Hoffmann Continuous kiln had been patented in 1858 by its German inventor Friedrich Hoffmann. The version built at Langcliffe had 22 individual burning chambers. Langcliffe’s Hoffmann kiln is fairly unique to Britain; most others of this kind that once existed have either been demolished or have simply crumbled away.

Having a kiln like this, which processed limestone into burnt lime, was extremely useful and many different people in the area bought lime. Farmers who didn’t have limestone on their land or couldn’t burn it themselves, used lime on their fields to help crops to grow. Many local building companies used lime in their mortar. Lime was also used in local industries such as tanning (leather making), textiles and paper making.